Prezzo, the restaurant chain with six Scottish outlets, saw its shares jump 5% after reporting an 11% rise in underlying profit to £18.3 million.

The group plans 25 openings this year including a fourth in Glasgow at the Fort centre.

The company said a pick-up in trading had followed the atypical sporting events of last summer, and was coupled with the continued momentum of restaurant openings. Revenues increased 17% to £144.5m and gross or restaurant profit rose 12% to £20.9m. Operating profit was up 11% to £18.3m.

Prezzo opened 31 new restaurants in 2012, closing two, to take the estate to 210, and prime locations included the newly refurbished Kings Cross station. The group's Chimichanga brand was expanded from 15 to 28 units.

Alan Millar, finance director, said Scotland had its fair share of strongly performing outlets, adding; "Aberdeen is a real success story."

This year has seen the opening of the first Prezzo in Northern Ireland, in Belfast's Victoria Square.

The group's net cashflow from operations rose by 19%. Cash outflow on property, plant and equipment rose from £22.3m to £24.1m.

Michael Carlton, chairman, said: "We are comfortable that our continued strong cash generation, together with a modest short-term borrowing facility and a portfolio of readily sale-able freehold properties will provide us with sufficient flexibility to comfortably fund our anticipated expansion plans for the foreseeable future." The group has increased the final dividend by 10% to 0.275p. The shares, which began the year at 68p, rose 4.5p to 88.5p.

Mr Carlton said: "This is the fifth consecutive year we have entered without a clear conviction that the UK economy can deliver sustained growth on any meaningful scale over the next 12 months. However, Prezzo has prospered during this period of uncertainty ... with a strong development pipeline ... the board is confident of further progress in the year ahead."